Russia

Steve and I have been here in Perm for a week now, and are pretty much over our jetlag. We have around 40 people coming to the teaching every night, though not the same people every night. It's an experiment in finding practical ways to help train their people in a rapidly growing church.
I was in a town called Kudymkar on Monday and Tuesday of this week, teaching on the Cross. The church there is less than a year old, but we had 15 people each of the two nights, and I taught for about 3 hours a night. The town is about 120 miles away, a 3 hour drive.
I visited their rehabilitation center, the third one I have visited on this trip. The churches start with the rehab centers, and then develop the church structures.
The weather is pretty gray. There are still patches of snow on the ground. Winter wheat is starting to turn green, but that is about the only green thing you see. All this while they are having beautiful spring weather at home!
Bruce Watson came yesterday, and will stay here in Perm while I go to Ekaterinburg.

Ingrid and Peder

We brought our old car to North Carolina for Peder and Melissa to have. This was Ingrid's farewell to her faithful friend (the Volvo!). We had it for 10 years. 

visiting in March 06

Ingrid, Luke, and Katrina on a ferry in North Carolina












Luke














Howard and Betty Mattsson-Boze at their bed & breakfast in Beaver Falls, PA












Gus (He doesn't like when his grandfather calls him that), better known as Steffan.

New Car

Today we will go and pick up an 02 Volvo Cross Country. Our old one (a 95 with 280,000 miles) will go to our son Peder.
It kind of reminds me of a time in Argentina when a friend exchanged a 62 Falcon for a 71 Peugeot. This was in about 1994! We kept putting water in the radiator as we drove down the road in his new car.
Our new one has only 37000 miles and is Volvo certified.

Clinic in Honduras

Majken Broby, my father's cousin, worked with the Congregational Churches to establish a holistic work in Rivera Hernandez, near San Pedro Sula, Honduras. This building is the clinic she built. It is led by Josue Hernandez, whom she helped send through medical school.
I was there together with John Carson, the missions coordinator for the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, and Johannes Alsbo, the leader of the Swedish mission, Barn i Nod.
We are grateful for the great work that Majken did. The church is also moving along very well, and there were about 300 people there on the Sunday evening that John spoke.
My nephew, Joel Mattsson-Boze was with me on the trip. We were in Olanchito, La Ceiba, and then on the Miskito coast in Cusuna with the Garifuna pastors. After that we were in several churches in the San Pedro Sula area. Joel is pastor of an Alliance church in Fremont, California.
Bob Kallem, from the Minneapolis area, was also with me on the latter part of the trip. He is an experienced teacher and pastor, and spent 18 years in Brazil as a missionary with the Alliance. He had been with a group led by Dave Seehusen that worked on several construction projects.

Nimule, Sudan

Alice and Moses solemnized their marriage while I was in Sudan. This was the first Protestant wedding ever in Nimule. Moses has never been seen happier, and the dancing went on for about 40 minutes!

Honduras

I'm leaving Thursday for Honduras. I'll be in Saba, Olanchito, and La Ceiba on the weekend.
Then I'll go to Cosuna, a Garifuna village on the coast, to meet with pastors on Monday to Wednesday.
After that I'll be in the San Pedro Sula area for about 10 days, preaching in various churches.
It's interesting in that I'll be in conferences for 3 denominations as well as the teaching for the Garifuna pastors.
I'll be away for about three weeks.

Marstrand

I found this nice picture from Marstrand, the island where my father was born in Sweden.

California

I'll be in San Diego Jan 24-28 along with Ingrid at the AGIF convention. On Friday morning they have asked me to present the work of the Herald of Faith.

Evah is a midwife working with the American Refugee Committee in Sudan. We gave her some birthpacks that she will use to reward women who come in for prenatal screening.
The other picture is Charles Okongo's family. His wife, Caroline, and Joe, Charity Ingrid, and Emmanuel. They are on the Nile River at Murchison Falls National Park.

Student in Nimule examining a short concordance that Steve Fitzpatrick donated. The books were a gift from Nelson publishers.

Sudan

In Sudan we taught 25 pastors for 4 days and set up a program for 4 days of teaching every two months through the year. At the end of the year we will issue a certificate to those who attend all the sessions. We will do this with African teachers.
It was quite hot in the afternoons, and it seemed that my attention span was about 5 minutes. I did my teaching in the mornings. The African guys had more discussion, and that seemed to keep people alert on the hot afternoons.
Charles Okongo, Fred Latim, and Kenneth Gong were with me.

Put the X back into Xmas

The fuss over Merry Christmas reminds me of the phrase a friend used back in the 60's. "It's time to put the X back into Xmas."
There is an X-factor that is largely ignored as we solemnly insist on saying Merry Christmas rather than Happy Holidays, as if somehow we are betraying Christ by not saying the proper words. The incarnation is a mystery: How can He be wholly God and wholly man? How can a virgin conceive? How is the New Birth possible?
Certainly we can find linear theological answers, but there is still mystery. The Enlightenment doesn't cover all the issues, and in fact it hinders us from considering the awesome aspects of Christ's birth.
The ancient Orthodox use of Xmas probably reflects the ancient Jewish hesitancy to pronounce the Divine Name. They were so afraid they might take it in vain, so they didn't say it at all. To bandy about the Name, or to insist that the secular stores do so, seems to me like we are encouraging them to use it for merely commercial purposes. I think the issue isn't political correctness; rather, it is a carefulness to not take the name in vain.
Having said those things, I personally rejoice in the Incarnation. The Word became flesh. The baby was born, and He was the Son of God. The shepherds worshipped, the angels sang, and the Wise Men came. Merry Christmas!

Daga, Anna Lisa, and Soffi

My Mother, Daga, is on the left, and her sister on the right. Soffi, the woman God sent to raise the family when their parents' died, is seated.
Mom was born in 1911, so this picture must be from about 1930 

Uganda car

This is the car we bought a few weeks ago.















These are my African grandchildren, Emmanuel, Charity, and Joseph, along with their parents, Charles and Caroline Okongo

Honduras flooding

Tropical Storm Gamma
The gamma storm left Honduras devastated again. Some were killed, and 11 thousand people were evacuated. Progreso, near San Pedro Sula, was especially hard hit.
I talked with Pastor Oscar in La Ceiba, and he said that his house was flooded, and he had to build up a retaining wall that fell.
In Saba, a pastor had heavy damage to his home.
I've helped some, but can't do a whole lot now because of other commitments. But if you want to help you can donate online at charitybox.com/hf
I'll be in Honduras in February.

Uganda unrest

A probable presidential candidate, Besigye, was arrested and put in jail, causing unrest in Uganda. He is charged with treason, and among other things, rape. He laughed at the rape charge, perhaps because rape is so common in Africa that they hardly consider it a crime.
There have also been student strikes at the Makarere University.

Iowa

I had an interesting weekend, visiting a conference for Living Waters ministry, a group that helps society's outcasts in Illinois.
Then I was in two churches associated with my friend Jim Hartman. One is a community church in Whitten, Iowa and the other the Assembly of God in Conrad, Iowa. The preaching (on the servant song in Isaiah 49) seemed to be well received

Uganda

Steve Fitzpatrick is on his way to Uganda, where he will meet McElvain and teach in Kitgum. Mac is already there and is teaching in Gulu this week. Murphy and Eudy are in Bugiri teaching, and will go on to Kenya next week. I would guess that among the four teachers, we will teach about 500 preachers during this two week period

Phillip and Ingrid

This was at Phillip's room at the University of Vermont a couple of weeks ago.